As prepared for delivery:
Good afternoon. It’s good to be with you again this week.
Our constituents expect us to deliver results and make government more efficient and effective. This direction toward accountability and transparency is part of the House Republican Commitment to America—and we are unyielding in our pursuit.
H.R. 5893, the Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2024, is core to that agenda.
The bill restores fiscal sanity and limits government bureaucracy and abuse. It saves taxpayers billions of dollars by eliminating wasteful spending and ensures unelected bureaucrats can’t weaponize the federal government to attack the constitutional rights of citizens.
Importantly, the legislation supports state and local law enforcement who uphold the integrity of the badge. At a time when crime and violence are skyrocketing across the nation, the bill fights back against liberal soft-on-crime policies. It provides resources to protect our children and communities, which is more important than ever. From grants to prevent crime and support enforcement to ensuring our men and women in blue can protect our neighborhoods, your majority in the House wants to ensure the safety and security of Americans.
H.R. 5893 also includes robust funding for drug prevention and treatment programs. Addiction is eating away at the soul of our country, and we must confront this deadly scourge.
I look forward to advancing this important measure.
Our second item is H.R. 5961, the No Funds for Iranian Terrorism Act, which will permanently freeze the $6 billion the Biden Administration released to the Iranian regime in September.
No one should want more funds going towards the world’s largest state sponsor of terrorism.
But Iran’s intentions for this money are clear: ballistic missiles, nuclear capabilities, terrorists, human rights violations, and destabilizing the security of America and our allies.
The Iranian regime is highly skilled in sanctions evasion and will do everything possible to utilize the funds for malign activities. Their President even brags about using funds “wherever we need it.”
Peace through strength starts with deterring bad actors. We have seen the opposite of that from President Biden—whose concessions and weakness on the world stage have emboldened our adversaries.
It’s woefully irresponsible to allow another cent to flow to Iran. H.R. 5961 will stop billions of dollars from reaching Tehran.
At a time when our most important ally in the Middle East, Israel, is facing an existential threat from vicious terrorist groups like Hamas, the United States must stand firm. There is no excuse for the atrocities of Hamas and their terrorist activities. And there is no excuse for allowing Hamas’ most important backer – Iran – to access money that can be used on weapons, training, rockets, and weapons of mass destruction.
It's critically important to our security that our relationship remains strong. We owe it to our friends and allies – especially Israel, and especially now – to stop Iran’s support of global terrorism. Today’s bill will go a long way toward doing so.
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